


Reload

by AsteroidMiyoko



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Other, Reunions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-30 10:37:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17222429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsteroidMiyoko/pseuds/AsteroidMiyoko
Summary: On an ordinary day in the middle of August, Charlie jolted awake, sweat already starting to bead at her temple.There's no reason why the other Decepticons can't still find Earth, find-She sat for long minutes, hands clenched, mind running through the possibilities.They must know, they must be preparing for it, right? Then…"I'm going to prepare for it too."And so Charlie did.(This, and other drabbles about my new OTP!)





	1. I'll Sleep When I'm Done

**Author's Note:**

  * For [satelliteinasupernova](https://archiveofourown.org/users/satelliteinasupernova/gifts).



> Obviously none of these characters belong to me; they belong to the lovely people who made them!
> 
> And this is for SatelliteinaSupernova, who had the very good idea of going to see this movie, and absolutely understands where I'm coming from. XD
> 
> This is just going to be some drabbles, different moods, about my new OTP. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Title: I'll Sleep When I'm Done  
Mood: Determined  
Song: Call on Me - Starley  
Illustration: [ Reunited](https://asteroidmiyoko.tumblr.com/post/181567781589/illustration-for-my-charbee-fic-because-its-been) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On an ordinary day in the middle of August, Charlie jolted awake, sweat already starting to bead at her temple. 

_There's no reason why the other Decepticons can't still find Earth, find-_

She sat for long minutes, hands clenched, mind running through the possibilities.

_They must know, they must be preparing for it, right? Then…_

"I'm going to prepare for it too."

And so Charlie did.

She studied mechanical engineering and computer progamming, worked on as many projects as she could fit between classes and sleeping, and managed to graduate a year ahead of schedule. The next step was to join the military as an officer and get on one of the teams developing tech; an opportunity which was grudgingly offered to her by an old-school recruiter who had to admit that Charlie's scores were too good to ignore. 

The Decepticons did find them, and war did come with a casualty list divided into two categories, and Charlie worked.

She worked tirelessly on weapons, defense systems, whatever she was allowed to get her hands on. (And some things she wasn't.) And if she yelled at her colleagues to turn off the tv whenever reports came of fighting between robots they could hardly tell apart, they didn't mind, because she just worked harder the next day.

~~~~~~~~~

And then, one day, it paid off.

They were able to gain the advantage, to disrupt the Decepticons' communication system, damage their base, (explosively, which gave Charlie no small amount of satsifaction), and give the Autobots a chance to disable all the Decepticons who hadn't managed to fly away from Earth at the last minute.

Inhale.

All over the planet there were celebrations; in cities which had been reduced to rubble, people streamed back in to rebuild and laugh and cry.

Charlie and her team got commendations for their work, and were invited to a ceremony which would both mark the end of the war, and recognize the Autobots as welcome allies to an increasingly unified Earth.

She stared at the invitation for a long time before tucking it into the pocket of the dress uniform she'd meticulously prepared.

Buildings, lights, the faces of her colleagues, blurred as she made their way to the airfield where the ceremony would be held. The hard seat, a surprise, as Charlie could hardly remember filing into her assigned row and sitting down. Important people gave speeches, made announcements, and then finally the hangar doors opened, and the Autobot delegation walked in to cheers and blinding camera flashes.

Charlie stood on tiptoes, trying to see around the excited attendees.

_Please be here, please be here, please be ok._

She gripped the back of a random chair to keep herself from running up to the front when a flash of yellow appeared in a break in the crowd. Eventually, everyone was encouraged to sit down, and for the first time in six years-

Exhale.

"Bee…"

A little worse for wear, he stood between two other Autobots towards the back of the line, and glanced around as Optimus exchanged pleasantries with human leaders.

_I'm right here!_

Charlie could tell when Bee finally realized because his optics widened and he tried to take a step forward. (Aborted by the Autobot standing behind him who was watching with amusement.) 

Luckily the ceremony wasn't to last much longer, and when everyone stood up to mingle and meet their new allies, Charlie disappeared out the back door. She stood behind the hangar, confident that Bee would find her as soon as he could break away, and tried with limited success not to jump happily. She was pacing back and forth when she heard a familiar light clanking sound, and spun around to see.

Close up, Charlie could tell that Bee was favoring one side, and one of his arms hung as if not fully connected. She teared up as he knelt down carefully and held his other hand out to her. Charlie threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around him and kissing every scratch and dent she could reach without letting go. Bee tightened his arm around her, and they stayed like that until the chatter of people faded away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
TBC


	2. I've Wanted to Tell You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bee gets his voice back, but isn't quite sure what to do with it when Charlie visits. (Follows the last drabble chronologically, but definitely not in mood, lol.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
> Mood: Complete Fluff  
> Song: Time Moved Slowly Then - Killedmyself  
> Illustration: TBA  
> Note: [When Bee's dialogue is in brackets, he's using radio clips]  
> Another Note: I beg forgiveness from fans who are super familiar with the characters; I'm having to cram from the wiki and clips on YouTube, lol, so they may not always be accurate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hold still, kid, I'm almost done."

Ratchet lifted a tiny chip and placed it in the new voice synthesizer he had built for Bumblebee. During the war there hadn't been time for such detail oriented work, not to mention the supplies were sorely needed elsewhere, and it was all Ratchet could do to keep up with the damage the Autobots and their base sustained.

"Out of practice with this fiddly stuff…" he mumbled to himself, flicking on a little soldering gun.

[You sure about this, Doc?] Bee asked, eyeing the gun warily.

"Now that you mention it-"

[Hey!]

Ratchet ignored him and soldered the chip in place.

"Look, there, it's done." he groused, already moving to put his tools away. "Now, don't be surprised if it takes a little while for your settings to get back to normal. You might not sound like yourself at first."

Bee shrugged.

[Don't remember what I sounded like anyway.]

"Out of curiosity," Ratchet began, making a show of organizing, "You weren't too keen on getting this done last week. But today you burst into my peaceful shop to demand it, and I can't help but wonder if it has anything to do with-"

[Thanks, Doc! Gotta go!]

The door to the shop slid closed as Bee darted out into the safety of the hallway, and Ratchet just shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

A Couple of Days Before

~~~~~~~~~~

"There you are, young Bumblebee!"

Bee turned at the sound of Optimus' voice echoing down the hallway which was noisy with conversation and repair. He marvelled, not for the first time, at their leader's ability to be heard no matter the situation or location. Standing, Bee saluted and fell in step.

"As I'm sure you've heard, we mean to make this a permanent settlement." Optimus began, gesturing vaguely at the ceiling. "It is difficult to say if we will be needed again, and it is our responsibility to protect against the Decepticons since we led them to Earth in the first place."

Bee nodded as they rounded the corner. [Makes sense.]

"Major repairs should be completed within the week, and then I would like to invite some of the human leaders here so that they will become comfortable with our presence."

Optimus stopped and leaned towards Bee.

"Of course I'll need you here, but it would be a convenient time for you to have visitors, if that is something you want."

[…]

"…"

[Jazz told you?!]

Straightening up, Optimus patted Bee on the shoulder.

"Jazz tells me everything."

~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, Optimus had grandly wanted to invite all of the world leaders at once before Arcee pointedly reminded him that it was a major security risk. As a compromise, they decided to invite several groups over the span of a couple of months.

Jazz was a natural when it came to interacting with alien species, PR, etc; he had taken point early on whenever it was necessary to meet with reporters or the military. So, the humans were pleasantly surprised to get his invitation to visit the in-progress Autobot City. Jazz elbowed Bee during a meeting and showed him the invitation that had a certain name listed.

Hence the mild and specific panic that had Bee running to the Doc's shop as soon as he could to request that his voice synthesizer be fixed. It's not that Charlie didn't understand him well enough, and he'd gotten much better at picking words out from the radio, but there were just some things he wanted to use his own voice for.

~~~~~~~~~~

The morning that the first group of humans were to arrive found Bee pacing the area in front of what would be the city center. He hadn't seen Charlie for six years before their reunion at the peace ceremony, and that had been sweet and quiet and just focused on 'You're alive, you're here…' And then they both had jobs to do with the rebuilding, so they hadn't seen each other in a month. Somehow the month had seemed longer to Bee.

So distracted was he with his thoughts, that he almost didn't notice Optimus and Jazz arriving to greet the humans who had driven up in a caravan of shiny black cars with flags. Bee didn't have a PR job, so he hung back and scanned each of the humans as they exited the cars, until-

Charlie jumped out of a jeep, boots making the dust puff up, a large duffle bag bag slung over her shoulder. She looked healthier than she had a month ago when it seemed like she hadn't had a full night's sleep in years. Her face had more color to it, and she stepped lightly despite the heavy bag. When Charlie saw Bee, she waved happily. She waited until the other humans had started following Jazz to the first location on their tour, and then ran, unslinging her duffle bag at the last second, and leaping up. Bee scrambled to catch her, and hummed contentedly as her arms found a familiar place around his neck.

After long moments, Charlie pulled back and smiled.

"Well, you gonna show me around this place, Mr. Citizen of Earth?"

~~~~~~~~~~~

They spent the rest of the morning wandering around the fledgling city, following the diagram that Bee had projected to show what it would eventually look like. Charlie chatted animatedly, talking about all of the progress she'd made on a new communication system, and wondering aloud about Autobot engineering.

Eventually they stopped at the bones of a future residential building and sat down on a low wall. Charlie nudged Bee's arm.

"I've been doing all of the talking, is everything ok?" she asked.

Bee stilled, and then motioned to his radio.

Charlie peered at it, "Your radio's not on?" She gasped, "Is it broken? Here, let me see…"

She was already reaching for her toolbag when Bee shook his head, causing Charlie to draw back with what looked like just a bit of disappointment.

"Oh. Ok, well, if you change your mind, let me know."

 _Coward._ Bee thought to himself. _Just talk to her!_

Eventually, Charlie stood up.

"Well, Bee, I'd better head back, get settled in to wherever I'm staying, and see about some lunch," she paused, "But maybe I can see you again when you're not too busy working?"

She grabbed her bag and smiled.

_Wait!_

Already stepping carefully over the construction, Charlie asked, "Walk me back? I'm pretty sure I know the route we took, but…"

"-ar-e, -ait!" Bee tried, willing his synthesizer to optimize.

Charlie stopped and looked back. "Was that your radio, Bee? It does sound pretty jumbled…"

"No, Char-lie. -t's, it's me!"

Her eyes widened as she turned fully back around to face him, but Bee continued before Charlie could interrupt.

"I -o -ant to see -ou again, Charlie, I want, six years I- I thought about you every day. A few times I… wasn't sure if I'd get to see you again."

Charlie sat back down on the wall, carefully reaching for Bee's clenched hand. He glanced down at her, the warmth of her light touch relaxing him.

"If it were up to me, I'd spend every day with you, as long as you'd let me. Is that ok? Charlie?"

Wiping a sleeve across her eyes, Charlie nodded.

"Yes, Bee, that's ok."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Because I know everything you need to tell me_  
Without you having to say it out loud  
I wish I had a hundred years  
A hundred years I could give to you 

Time Moved Slowly Then - Killingmyself


	3. Peacetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie meets Windblade and Nautica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~  
> Mood: Playful  
> Song: TBA  
> Illustration: TBA  
> Notes: I will put ALL of the fembots in these, I swear to Primus. From now on all of my drabbles start with Autobots working on stuff, lol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

_bzzzzzt clink_   
_bzzzzzt clink_   
_bzzzzzt-_

"Dang it!"

Nautica carefully placed her newest experiment (a type of energon - electricity converter) on the work table. Her internal chronometer told her that she had been working for almost five hours without stopping.

"Good way to make a mistake." she mumbled to herself, gingerly rotating her arms to get the stiffness out.

She leaned backwards in her chair in time to see the door slide open and Windblade enter shaking her head.

"What's so funny?" Nautica asked, eagerly, grateful for the excuse to take a break.

"Oh, the usual. Grimlock offended one of the humans and Jazz is having to deal with it."

"Of course!"

Windblade glanced at the converter on the table, and then at Nautica's slightly slouched appearance.

"Are you at a stopping point?" she asked, holding a hand out, "Want to take a walk?"

"If by 'stopping point' you mean, I need to stop looking at this for a while, then yes. Absolutely." Nautica replied, grabbing Windblade's hand and pulling herself up. Grinning, she pulled Windblade out into the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few minutes later, as they approached the south exit of the science building, they heard the unmistakable sound of tires on dirt, followed closely by a faint, "Woo hoo!"

"What in the world?" Windblade murmured.

Nautica shrugged.

There in the empty patch of earth behind the building was Bee, in car form, doing doughnuts while a human voice laughed brightly from the driver's side seat.

After a couple minutes of that, Bee transformed, and both he and Charlie rolled out on to their backs on the dirt. They were laughing and coughing, and Charlie clutched her stomach as she tried unsuccessfully to stand without falling.

"How… cute." Windblade said, dryly.

Leaning her head on Windblade's shoulder, Nautica smiled. "You know they are."

Noticing that they had observers, Bee waved to them. Once he managed to right himself, he scooped Charlie up and jogged over, planting her gently back on her feet as they approached.

"Charlie," he began, "this is Windblade and Nautica. We've been friends a long time. Windblade is one of our best fighters and scouts, and Nautica is a bit of a mad scientist."

Windblade nodded as Nautica gave a little wave. Charlie stepped forward, eyes wide.

"Bee!" she said, exasperatedly.

"What??"

"They're so… amazing! Why didn't you introduce me before??" Charlie shook her head, flustered. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't talk about you in the 3rd person. You're just-"

Nautica giggled.

"Aw, she's as cute as you said, Bee."

To his credit, Bee didn't deny it. Not that Charlie noticed, so busy was she staring admiringly at the pair.

"You're a scientist?" she asked.

"Sure am! Scientist, inventor, etc." Nautica replied, warmly. "I hear you've got a knack for that sort of thing too. You're welcome to come visit my lab; I've got a couple of projects where a small pair of hands would be helpful."

Charlie's eyes lit up. "Oh my gosh, I'd love to!"

"Primus save us." Windblade mumbled, glancing fondly at her partner. "Well, Charlie, it was nice to meet you. Bee, stay out of trouble. Tica, should we get going on that walk?"

"Yes, let's leave these two to their day."

Bee and Charlie said their goodbyes and headed down the street. As they went, Windblade could hear Charlie murmuring, "They're so beautiful…" 

As they walked, Nautica hummed thoughtfully.

"That's the first time I've seen Bee's Bug form in years."

Windblade squeezed Nautica's hand. "Haven't you heard? The war's over."


	4. This is for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~~~~~~~~~~  
> Mood: Self-Love  
> Song: TBA  
> Illustration: TBA  
> Notes: This is for Chalabrun, who requested some stargazing!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie carefully unfolded the duffle bag she'd brought three weeks earlier and laid it on her assigned cot. She placed the stack of folded clothes inside, followed by a towel, a toiletries kit, and several pairs of socks. Zipping it up, she took a deep breath.

She had managed to extend her stay in Autobot City by a few days but she was, of course, being ordered to report back for a new assignment. It would probably be something to do with restoring infrastructure; that's what everyone's job would be for a while. Charlie didn't mind the work, but she was finding more and more that there was something off-kilter in her environment, or maybe in herself, that dampened her enthusiasm. And of course, there was Bee.

He had stopped by earlier during a break to run his hand through Charlie's hair and ask if she wanted to hang out that evening. She'd said yes, and he'd happily bustled off with a wave, but as soon as the last bit of yellow had disappeared around the corner, Charlie felt her smile slipping. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation they needed to have and, like a coward, she'd put it off until the last  
possible day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Charlie dwelling on her departure, time flew by, and before long it was time to meet Bee on a little ridge outside of town that they'd found on a previous outing.

She found him there, already seated next to a folded blanket, tapping his foot to some song in his internal processor and looking up at the sky. He glanced over at her as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and sat down next to him.

After a few moments of silence, Charlie opened her mouth to recite the speech she'd prepared, but before she could get a word out-

"Hey, C, did you know Autobots don't have constellations?"

"Wh-" Charlie blinked, "Really? Not even from… I don't know, ancient stories?"

Bee shook his head. "For a long time, ancient Autobots used the energy from stars to fuel their society and keep the AllSpark alive. The space around Cybertron got darker and darker until, by the time I was formed, there were hardly any stars left."

"Wow… so it must have been a surprise when you landed here." Charlie scooted closer and leaned her head on Bee's arm.

"It sure was," Bee said, voice trilling slightly inspite of the repairs.

_I don't want to leave…_

"Bee, want me to tell you about some of ours?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charlie told him about Cassiopeia, the Bears, Aquarius, and all the others she could remember in the Autumn sky. Bee listened closely, scanning each one and commiting them to memory. The night went on, and Charlie kept telling stories, first the ones about specific constellations, then ones only tangentally related, then some completely out of left-field. Her eyes started to droop, and she leaned more heavily against Bee, and then, finally, she couldn't think of any other stories no matter how hard she tried.

She hardly noticed when Bee scooped her up and held her closely against his chest. He was warm, and his quiet thrum of energy threatened to lull her completely to sleep.

"C," Bee murmured, after a long moment, "Can I tell you a story too?"

Charlie nodded.

"Did you know that we were here a long time ago? Before humans? Well, I wasn't, but the older Bots were. They fought the Cons over deposits of Energon, huge battles… Anyway, there were times when Cybertron was close enough to Earth that you could fly here in one day."

Something about the tone of Bee's voice caused some of Charlie's drowsiness to seep away, and she looked up at him as he continued.

"But over the years, millions of years, Cybertron got further away. The war changed. And then do you know what happened?"

Charlie shook her head.

"Somehow, when Optimus was trying to keep the AllSpark safe, it found it's way to Earth through a wormhole. It… could have gone anywhere in time and space, but it came here."

"Bee…"

"All I'm saying is, even if you have to go for a little while, or, um, for longer, I'll still be here. We'll see each other-"

"But I don't want to leave!" Charlie exclaimed, climbing out of the circle of Bee's arms and pacing back and forth in front of him.

"I know I'm supposed to do the responsible thing and go to work, accept my next assignment, do what needs to be done!" she explained, frustration making her voice break, "But I want someone to tell me its ok if I don't. I want…"

She trailed off, exhaustion catching back up with her and causing her to shiver involuntarily. Bee watched her carefully.

"Then," he said, quietly, hopefully, "What if you stayed?"

"If I stayed, I-"

Charlie's mind raced through all of the things she'd been daydreaming about over the past three weeks.

"I'd help Ratchet fix things, I'd work on amazing experiments with Nautica, maybe I'd even have my own little shop where I work on the cars that aren't secretly sentient beings." She smiled as she pictured it. "I'd take long walks and explore every nook of Autobot City, I'd never have to develop tech for war ever again, and do you know what else?"

"What?" Bee asked, warmed by the tired but happy look that had settled over Charlie.

"Before all of that," she said, stepping back over to rest her hands gently on either side of the face she thought she'd never get tired of studying, "Everyday I'd kiss the one I love good morning."

Watching, as the sides of Bee's face plate shifted up in what Charlie had come to understand was a smile, Charlie realized she'd just made up her mind. She'd report to base, but only to let them know she wouldn't be reupping, and to grab the few posessions she had from her shared quarters. There wasn't housing for humans in Autobot City yet, but that didn't matter. She'd sleep outside in a tent every night if it meant she could finally, gradually, arrange her life the way she wanted.

Charlie leaned in close to Bee, Bee who was somehow here with her now in spite of all of the vastness of the universe.

"Is it morning yet?" he asked, teasingly.

"I think it might be." she replied, smiling, and closed the distance.


	5. Early In the Morning, Everything is Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Charbee being awake while the other one sleeps, mega fluff.
> 
> Fluff and Nonsense, I swear. If you're looking for plot, I'm sorry.

~~~~~~~~~~  
~Falling Asleep~  
~~~~~~~~~~  
"You should have seen how quickly Elita-"

_snooooooore_

Bumblebee's optics widened, momentarily taken aback by the unique sound that came from the small body tucked against his hood.

_Oh that's right, humans make these noises when they sleep._

_Heh. I'm going to tease her about it later._

Charlie shifted slightly, and Bee carefully arranged her in what he hoped was a more comfortable position. She sighed, one arm pillowing her head, and the other stretched out against him. Her hand rested lightly in between his hood and right fender.

For a few minutes, Bee sat very still, worried that any movement would wake Charlie. After a while though, it became apparent that she was sleeping quite deeply. They'd been hard at work, building Autobot City, and by the time they'd met up at the end of the day, her eyes were already drooping. Happy, he was glad to see, but drooping.

Taking his chances, Bee lifted the hand that wasn't holding Charlie steady, and slowly began running his fingers through her hair. Even tangled and mussed, it was so soft he could barely feel it, so he watched to make sure no strands got caught between his joints.

Suddenly, Charlie mumbled something, and Bee froze. A few moments later, she did it again, but no matter how hard he listened, Bee couldn't tell what she was saying. After a couple more nonsense syllables, Charlie sighed, and smiled, and continued sleeping.

Bee felt an overwhelming fondness wash over himself as he watched her. Even considering the multitude of unknowns that lay before him as he escaped Cybertron, he had not expected to be the recipient of such trust, and kindness, and…love from a human. (Briefly he wondered what would have happened if he'd not reached Earth, but turned away from that thought quickly.) And he knew it was definitely love. He'd known what that looked like because he watched the other bots as they held each other after battles, or traded soft words, or told jokes to distract from what was going on around them. Charlie almost immediately treated him the same way, fixing damaged systems, curling up on his seat as they flew down the road, wishing him goodnight.

It would take years for Autobot City to reach the level of development that they were used to, but Charlie had already said she wanted to be there for all of it. 

_thank you thank you thank you_

For her, it was an adventure, but for Bee, it was coming home, in more ways than one.

After a few more long moments of sitting peacefully…

_Well, I don't want to move…but I might as well conserve energy._

Bee laid down more fully, locking his arm in place so that Charlie wouldn't fall off of him during the night. Then, he shuttered his optics and let the soft pulse of Charlie's systems follow him into Sleep Mode.

~~~~~

When Charlie awoke, she had a bit of a crick in her neck. As she came more fully into awareness, she realized she had passed out on something metal.

_Well, no wonder I'm a bit stiff, I-_

Opening her eyes, she realized that the metal she was currently laying on was a very particular shade of yellow.

_…_

_I fell asleep on Bee?! He must be uncomfortable like this!_

Charlie tried to sit up, but found she could only move slightly. Bee's arm was wrapped quite securely around her, pinning her to his front, her face tucked under his head. After a couple more fruitless attempts at movement, Charlie laid her head back down with an exasperated sigh.

_Guess I'll wait until he wakes up._

It ocurred to Charlie that she hadn't really had the opportunity to watch Bee while he slept before. He laid very still, limbs out stretched except for the one curled around her, optics covered by safety shutters. He didn't breathe, per se, but as she listened close, Charlie realized she could hear coolant running through his system.

Listening closer still, she could hear something like electricity buzzing underneath his plates. It was slightly louder as she tilted her ear closer to the center of Bee's hood.

_I wonder what that is… Bee's power source? That… feels right._

A strong protective urge came over Charlie then, and she placed her hand over the spot from which the slight buzzing seemed to originate. She imagined she could feel warm currents of electricity as they passed from Bee to her. She imagined somehow sending her own currents back to him.

She wondered what it would be like to kiss him there.

Soft whirring caused Charlie to jump slightly, and she pulled her hand back, embarrased, though she couldn't quite explain why. Glancing up, she could see Bee's systems coming back online.

~~~~~

"Hello, you." was the first thing Bee heard as he came out of his sleep cycle.

His optics flared to life and he sat up quickly, partially dislodging Charlie in the process. Giggling, Charlie righted herself.

"Good morning, Bee." she said, heart full and skin tingling with something unidentiable.

"Mornin', C. Sorry about that-"

Charlie interrupted him by flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she could.

"Bee," she murmured, "I-"

"Hm?" he responded groggily, systems still in the process of coming online.

"I don't know how to explain it…" Charlie began, slowly, "But you know how um, love, isn't really a specific physical concept?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I mean, yes?"

"Well, sometimes it almost feels like it is." Charlie leaned back far enough to press her forehead against Bee's. Her voice shook. "Sometimes, it feels like you're filled with this awe and love and fondness that's too big for your skin, and if you can't figure out some way to get it to the other person, you'll just fly into a million pieces." she paused after rushing to get that explanation out before she could change her mind, "Do you- do you know what I mean, Bee?"

Bee's hands felt stiff and clumsy as he brought them up to wrap around her.

"I um, so-" _Start over_ "For me, it's like… it's like my insides are glowing brighter and brighter, and it seems like the others must be able to see it through my outer plating."

At his explanation, Charlie smiled brightly.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, and seemed to relax slightly.

The thought flitted through Bee's mind that his spark would keep glowing, and the light keep expanding until it completely engulfed them both, so that even if Charlie's outer shell flew apart like she said, she would be safe inside him.


End file.
